Evie, seeing where his eyes were, shrugged. “I need to get caught up with the clothes so I can pack. Penni wants to leave Tuesday.”

Shade took a deep breath. He was going to have to tell her. “Let’s sit down.”

Evie, Lucky, and Shade all sat down at the table.

“This doesn’t seem to be good news.” Evie stared back and forth between him and Lucky.

“It’s not,” Shade said grimly. “You know the pastor taking over for Lucky?”

“He came to the church to do a ‘in view to a call’ sermon, but I didn’t take the time to meet or speak to him directly, so I only vaguely remember him. He was a chaplain who worked with Lucky before I was discharged.”

“That’s right, but there’s something about him that you don’t know. He’s married to Brooke.”

Evie’s face whitened at his words. “You have got to be shittin’ me.”

“I wish I was,” Shade replied grimly.

“She’s my evil twin,” Evie told Lucky.

Shade silently agreed. Truer words had never been spoken.

“I’m sorry, Evie. I didn’t know,” Lucky apologized.

“It’s not your fault,” Evie told him before her face dropped even more. “Crap. I told Lily and Beth I would go to the church tomorrow to meet the pastor.”

“She won’t be there. She’s in Georgia, closing up the sale of their house.”

“Thank God for small miracles. Brooke didn’t come with him when Merrick came for his interview sermon. I overheard Merrick say his wife had wanted to make sure he was given the job before she came to Treepoint. I’ll be leaving on Tuesday, so I can avoid her. When I come back, I’ll find another church to attend. Maybe I’ll try the one Willa’s gone to a few times.”

Lucky frowned. “I wish I knew why she didn’t like me as her pastor.”

“Other than you’re too good-looking for a pastor and single, and she’s really shy?” Evie said, rolling her eyes at Lucky.

“You mean…?”

“That she has a crush on you.”

Shade laughed at the reddish tinge which came to Lucky’s face at Evie’s sarcastic voice.

“I didn’t know.”

“No shit, Sherlock. You’re the only one who didn’t. You’re as blind as Lily was. I think, in both cases, neither one of you wanted to see what was right in front of your face,” Evie said shrewdly.

Lucky stiffened. “I know how women act when they want to attract a man. Hell, she did everything she could to avoid me. It’s not like I would notice, otherwise.”

Evie threw Lucky an angry glance. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means she’s not my type,” Lucky stated, obviously confused by why Evie was becoming angry.

“If she’s a woman, she’s your type,” Evie said snidely.

“That’s not true. I like a particular type of woman. I like—”

“Women who are thinner? Prettier?” Evie was breathing fire at the clueless brother by that point.

“She’s not a slut,” Shade answered with what Lucky was being too polite to say.

“What?” The fire in Evie extinguished.

Shade nodded when Evie turned to him. “He likes sluts. The sluttier, the better.”

Lucky looked pained at Shade’s explanation.

“Willa isn’t a slut,” Lucky answered, damning himself with his own words.

“No, Willa isn’t a slut,” Evie agreed, leaning back in her chair, her shoulders beginning to shake.

“What’s so funny?” Lucky asked, finding the anger Evie had was now lost and believing she was making fun of him.

“How in the hell did you stay celibate for all those years?”

“It wasn’t easy,” Lucky admitted with a smile. “When I see myself settling down, it’s with a woman who’s like Jewell or Bliss.”

“Poor Willa,” Evie said sympathetically.

Shade didn’t say anything, preferring to stay out of other people’s business, but then he just couldn’t help himself.

“Maybe she’s a slut in the bedroom.” He stood up. It was time he went home. After watching Lucky with Ember and Stori, he was ready for his own woman.

“I doubt that. She’s afraid of her own shadow,” Lucky said.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Shade told him. “Fuck her.”

Chapter 72

The shadows around the house allowed him to blend in with the background as he waited patiently for Lily and Beth to leave. When their SUV turned the corner, Shade moved stealthily through the night.

Earlier that day, there had been a luncheon at the church to welcome Pastor Merrick and, surprisingly, his wife, the demon bitch Brooke. Shade, Lucky, and most of all, Evie were surprised to find her already in Treepoint.

Shade had been informed after the luncheon that Brooke was already showing her demon, chasing Willa out of the church with her snide, backhanded comments.

Then the reason for the night visit—Evie had told him about her conversation with King when he had made comments about Evie fucking Shade, asked if Lily and Beth participate in orgies, and then insulted Evie, which then led to Lucky pummeling him into the ground. That was when Shade and Lily had come upon the scene, having heard the commotion from the church’s store where Shade had been keeping Lily busy and far away from Brooke.

Lily and Beth had then taken King to the hospital because he was bleeding at his gunshot wound, something Lucky must have caused when beating the shit out of him. Shade stayed back, getting the story from Evie and Lucky, his suspicion and dislike for King growing.

King had a state-of-the-art alarm system, which didn’t make it impossible to enter, only more difficult. He worked efficiently on it, taking his time so as not to set the alarm off, and was rewarded when he heard the click of the lock. He kind of liked the new locks which had keyless entry. Finding the right frequency made it easy to gain access.

He soundlessly entered the house, hearing Henry in the kitchen. He could have taken him out without a chance to defend himself, but he didn’t.

Coming at him from behind, he grabbed Henry around the throat, cutting off his oxygen. He had given him a chance, and it had still ended with the same result—him lying on the floor, unconscious.

He searched for King, finding him in his bedroom, smoking a cigar while staring out the window.

“Should you be out of bed?”

King remained still, not bothering to turn around; instead, he looked at Shade’s reflection in the glass.

“I needed to move around. You just missed Lily and Beth.”

“I saw them leave.”

King took a deep draw of his cigar. “Henry okay?”

“He’ll wake up in a few minutes.”

King turned to face Shade. “Say what you want to say.”

“Stop, King. Go back to Queens City. Live your life. If you want to play father, call Lily once a month. Come and see her for a week in the summer. But stay out of our lives the rest of the time.”

“And if I don’t? I’m not someone you can make disappear without Lily asking questions.”